Jazz Can’t Depend on Donovan Mitchell’s Heroics Quite Yet

What looked to be a career performance from the Utah guard against the best team in the East fell apart by the end of Monday night. But the reps he’s getting as the team’s undisputed first option still hold value.

Donovan Mitchell takes a while to get going. It’s been that way his entire career, even at the University of Louisville. Twelve games into his sophomore season, he was shooting his 3s below the 30 percent mark; in the 21 games that followed, he was the team’s surest outside shot. Mitchell had a historic first campaign with the Utah Jazz that sparked Rookie of the Year eligibility debates in his defense, but he christened it by hitting only five of his first 25 shots in his first three regular-season games.